The Democratic Republic of Congo is set to sign a peace deal Monday with M23 rebels, a week after the group announced it was halting its fighting to pursue its goals through political means.
The Congolese army is backed by a 3,000-soldier U.N. “intervention brigade,” authorized to undertake offensive operations against the rebels. They seized the last of M23’s strongholds in North Kivu province last week, leading to the group announcing the end of the rebellion it launched in April 2012.
M23 consists of fighters who joined the Congolese army in a 2009 peace deal but later defected after complaining of poor treatment. Congo has accused neighboring Rwanda and Uganda of supporting M23, an allegation both countries deny.
Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201311111066.html?aa_source=mf-hdlns
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